US20120096826A1 - Walk-behind lawn mower - Google Patents
Walk-behind lawn mower Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20120096826A1 US20120096826A1 US13/252,515 US201113252515A US2012096826A1 US 20120096826 A1 US20120096826 A1 US 20120096826A1 US 201113252515 A US201113252515 A US 201113252515A US 2012096826 A1 US2012096826 A1 US 2012096826A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- front wall
- wall portion
- lawn mower
- housing
- cutter
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D34/00—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters
- A01D34/835—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters specially adapted for particular purposes
- A01D34/84—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters specially adapted for particular purposes for edges of lawns or fields, e.g. for mowing close to trees or walls
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D34/00—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters
- A01D34/01—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus
- A01D34/412—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters
- A01D34/63—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters having cutters rotating about a vertical axis
- A01D34/73—Cutting apparatus
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D34/00—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters
- A01D34/01—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus
- A01D34/412—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters
- A01D34/63—Mowers; Mowing apparatus of harvesters characterised by features relating to the type of cutting apparatus having rotating cutters having cutters rotating about a vertical axis
- A01D34/81—Casings; Housings
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a lawn mower including a housing covering a cutter for allowing rotation of the cutter to cut grass.
- Walk-behind lawn mowers have housing covering cutters and serving as frames of the mowers.
- the housings are configured to have strength or rigidity sufficient to provide the frames.
- the walk-behind lawn mowers are often lifted up for transportation or storage.
- front end portions of the housings may be used as handles.
- the housings are configured to have sufficient strength or rigidity to provide the frames, not to have the front end portions serve as handles useful for lifting up the mowers.
- a walk-behind lawn mower comprising: a cutter; a housing covering the cutter for allowing rotation of the cutter to cut grass; the housing including a front wall portion covering a front part of the cutter and a portion other than the front wall portion, the front wall portion extending laterally of the housing; the front wall portion having a thickness more than twice a thickness of the portion other than the front wall portion; the front wall portion having a downwardly convex bottom surface; and the front wall portion serving as a handle for use in lifting up the lawn mower.
- the housing includes the front wall portion covering the front part of the cutter and the portion other than the front wall portion.
- the front wall portion is more than twice as thick as the portion other than the front wall portion.
- the front wall portion has the downwardly convex bottom surface.
- the bottom surface of downwardly convex shape has a larger area.
- the downward convex bottom surface of the front wall portion provides a load distributed over palms or fingers of user's hands when the user holds the front wall portion with the palms or fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion so as to lift up the walk-behind lawn mower.
- the front wall portion serves as the handle useful in lifting up the lawn mower.
- the provision of the front wall portion serving as the handle eliminates the need to provide the lawn mower with an additional handle for use in lifting up the lawn mower. That is, the lawn mower provides the handle without requiring additional components used as a handle.
- the lawn mower with the front wall portion serving as the handle is lower in weight and requires a less cost than with the front wall portion separate from the handle.
- the front wall portion includes an inner wall disposed on a side of the cutter, an outer wall spaced outward from the inner wall, and ribs disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall.
- the inner wall has a downwardly convex bottom surface.
- the outer wall has a downwardly convex bottom surface.
- the front wall portion which has the inner and outer walls spaced from one another, is small in thickness. That is, the housing is molded in such a manner as to space the inner and outer walls from each other to provide the front wall portion free from sink marks.
- the inner and outer walls have the downwardly convex bottom surfaces.
- the bottom surface of downwardly convex shape has a larger area.
- the downward convex bottom surface of the front wall portion provides a load distributed over palms or fingers of user's hands when the user holds the front wall portion with the palms or fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion so as to lift up the walk-behind lawn mower.
- the distributed load applied to the entire palms or fingers can be small.
- the ribs have downwardly convex bottom surfaces, and the bottom surface of the inner wall, the bottom surface of the outer wall and the bottom surfaces of the ribs are in flush with one another.
- the downward convex bottom surface of the front wall portion provides a load distributed over palms or fingers of user's hands when the user holds the front wall portion with the palms or fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion so as to lift up the walk-behind lawn mower.
- the distributed load applied to the entire palms or fingers can be small.
- the outer wall of the front wall portion is offset outwardly from the portion other than the front wall portion, and the front wall portion has a curved outer surface extending from the portion other than the front wall portion to the outer wall of the front wall portion.
- the curved outer surface of the front wall portion guides the rainwater to the outer wall to thereby prevent the rainwater from collecting between the outer wall and the portion other than the front wall portion.
- the walk-behind lawn mower further comprises reinforcing ribs disposed on an inner surface of the portion other than the front wall portion.
- the inner surface is located rearward of the front wall portion.
- the reinforcing ribs are disposed away from the front wall portion.
- the reinforcing ribs are not contact with user's fingers when the user holds the front wall portion with the fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion. With the reinforcing ribs keeping off the front wall portion, the user can easily hold the front wall portion with his fingers.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lawn mower
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front part of a housing of the lawn mower shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the front part of the housing of the lawn mower shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4 - 4 of FIG. 2 ;
- FIG. 5 is a view showing in perspective the housing front part shown in FIG. 3 .
- FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion encircled by a circle 6 of FIG. 4 ;
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing that a front wall of the housing is used as a handle.
- FIG. 8 is a view showing that the lawn mower is lifted up.
- a walk-behind lawn mower 10 is a self-propelled working machine for cutting grass.
- the lawn mower 10 includes a downwardly opening housing 11 , left and right front wheels 12 , 12 disposed at a front part 11 a of the housing 11 , left and right rear wheels 13 , 13 (only one shown) disposed at a rear part 11 b of the housing 11 , a grass-cutting cutter 14 disposed in the middle of a space defined within the housing 11 , an engine (drive source) 15 disposed atop the housing 11 , and a handle 16 extending rearward from the rear part 11 b of the housing 11 .
- the housing 11 which covers the cutter 14 , is a molded member defining a part or entire frame of the lawn mower 10 .
- a height adjustment mechanism 21 having a handle 22 and a control button 23 to be pushed by an operator with the handle 22 held by his hand for moving up and down the housing 11 .
- the engine 15 is bolted to the housing 11 .
- the engine 15 has an output shaft 15 a extending vertically downwardly into the housing 11 .
- the output shaft 15 a has a lower end attached to the cutter 14 for rotating the cutter 14 on the output shaft 15 a when the engine 15 is driven.
- the engine 11 is driven to rotate the rear wheels 13 , 13 forward or reversely through a continuously variable transmission (CVT), a transmission shaft and a gear train.
- CVT continuously variable transmission
- the rear part 11 b of the housing 11 is connected through stays 17 , 17 (only one shown) to the handle 16 .
- the handle 16 has a grip 18 at a top thereof.
- the housing 11 has an outward convex front part 11 a extending from a top 11 c of the front part 11 a to a bottom 11 d of the front part 11 a .
- the front part 11 a has left and right sides rotationally supporting the left front wheel 12 and the right front wheel 12 , respectively.
- an axle 27 is attached through left and right brackets 26 , 26 to left and right side wall portions 11 e , 11 e of the front part 11 a of the housing 11 .
- the left and right front wheels 12 , 12 are rotationally attached to the right and left brackets 26 , 26 , respectively.
- the housing 11 includes a front wall portion 31 interconnecting a front end 11 f of the left side wall portion 11 e and a front end 11 f of the right side wall portion 11 e .
- the front wall portion 31 which has an arc-shape when viewed in a bottom plan, includes its middle having a forward convex shape.
- the front wall portion 31 which extends laterally of the housing 11 , is disposed forward of and covers a front part of the cutter 14 .
- the front wall portion 31 has a thickness T 1 .
- the housing 11 has a portion 11 g other than the front wall portion 31 .
- the thickness T 1 of the front wall portion 31 is more than twice a thickness T 2 ( FIG. 4 ) of the portion 11 g other than the front wall portion 31 .
- the front wall portion 31 has an outer surface 31 a offset outward (forward) from the portion 11 g of the housing 11 by a distance H 1 .
- the front wall portion 31 has a smoothly curved outer surface 11 h extending from the portion 11 g of the housing 11 to the outer surface 31 a of the front wall portion 31 .
- the curved outer surface 11 h can guide the rainwater to the outer surface 31 a so as to prevent the rainwater from collecting between the portion 11 g and the outer surface 31 a.
- the front part 11 a of the housing 11 includes a plurality of reinforcing ribs 41 disposed away from the front wall portion 31 and formed on an inner surface 11 i located rearward of the front wall 31 .
- the front part 11 a of the housing 11 is reinforced by the ribs 41 .
- the front wall portion 31 includes an inner wall 32 disposed on a side of the cutter 14 , an outer wall 33 spaced outwardly from the inner wall 32 by a predetermined interval S 1 , and a plurality of ribs 34 disposed between the inner and outer walls 32 , 33 and spaced from one another by a predetermined interval S 2 .
- the inner wall 32 , the outer wall 33 and each of the ribs 34 define a space 36 .
- the inner wall 32 and the outer wall 33 have their small thicknesses T 3 , T 3 .
- the small thickness T 3 of each of the walls 32 , 33 results in the front wall portion 31 having overall thickness reduced by an amount corresponding to a width of the space 36 .
- the inner and outer walls 32 , 33 have bottom surfaces 32 a , 33 a , respectively.
- the ribs 34 have their bottom surfaces 34 a .
- the bottom surface 32 a , the bottom surface 33 a , and the bottom surfaces 34 a lie in the same plane, or are in flush with one another.
- the bottom surface 32 a of the inner wall 32 is downwardly convexly curved.
- the bottom surface 33 a of the outer wall 33 is downwardly convexly curved.
- the bottom surfaces 34 a of the ribs 34 are downwardly convexly curved.
- the bottom surface 32 a , the bottom surface 33 a , and the bottom surfaces 34 a define a bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 .
- the thickness T 1 of the front wall portion 31 is more than twice the thickness T 2 of the portion 11 g other than the front wall portion 31 .
- the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 which has the thickness T 1 more than twice the thickness T 2 of the portion 11 g , has a larger area.
- the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 which is defined by the downwardly convex bottom surfaces 32 a , 33 a , 34 a , is complementary to inner surfaces of user's fingers so that the front wall portion 31 can contact the inner surfaces of the user's fingers throughout the bottom surface 31 b . That is, the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 has its entire area sufficient to contact the inner surfaces of the user's fingers.
- the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 can provide a load uniformly distributed over to a wide area of the inner surfaces of the user's fingers when the user holds the front wall portion 31 with the inner surfaces of the user's fingers held in contact with the bottom surface 31 b .
- the distributed load applied to the entire area of the inner surface of the user's fingers can be small.
- the front wall portion 31 can thus serve as a handle useful in lifting up the walk-behind lawn mower 10 .
- the provision of the front wall portion 31 serving as the handle eliminates the need to provide the lawn mower 10 with a separate handle.
- the lawn mower 10 thus provides the handle without requiring an additional component used as the handle.
- the lawn mower 10 with the front wall portion serving as the handle is lower in weight and requires a less cost than with the front wall portion separate from the handle.
- the reinforcing ribs 41 are formed on the inner surface 11 i located rearward of the front wall portion 31 . Since the reinforcing ribs 41 are located avoiding the front wall portion 31 , the ribs 41 are not contact with the user's fingers held in contact with the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 when the user holds the front wall portion 31 to lift up the lawn mower 10 .
- FIGS. 7A and 7B and FIG. 8 showing that the front wall portion 31 is used in lifting up the walk-behind lawn mower 10 .
- fingers 45 hold the front wall portion 31 to lift up the lawn mower 10 .
- the reinforcing ribs 41 formed on the inner surface 11 i located rearward of the front wall portion 31 are disposed away from the front wall portion 31 , such that the reinforcing ribs 41 are not in contact with the fingers 45 . With the reinforcing ribs 41 keeping off the fingers 45 , the user can easily hold the front wall portion 31 with the fingers 45 .
- the thickness T 1 of the front wall portion 31 is greater than the thickness T 2 of the portion 11 g other than the front wall portion 31 .
- the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 is downwardly convexly curved.
- the bottom surface 31 b has so large an area that the bottom surface 31 b can entirely contact inner surfaces 45 a of the fingers 45 .
- the bottom surface 31 b provides a load distributed over a wide area of the inner surfaces 45 a of the fingers 45 as the fingers 45 hold the front wall portion 31 .
- the distributed load applied to the entire area of the inner surfaces 45 a can be small.
- the front wall portion 31 can thus serve as a handle useful in lifting up the walk-behind lawn mower 10 .
- one of two people 43 , 43 lifts up the lawn mower 10 holding the front wall portion 31 with their fingers 45 of both hands 44 while the other person lifts up the lawn mower 10 holding the handles 16 , 16 with his both hands 44 .
- the people 43 , 43 who have lifted up the lawn mower 10 holding the front wall portion 31 and the handles 16 , 16 , can carry or store the lawn mower 10 into a desired place.
- the bottom surfaces 34 a of the ribs 34 may extend downwardly to a level higher than the level of the inner and outer walls 32 , 33 so that the bottom surfaces 34 a and the bottom surfaces 32 a , 33 a of the inner and outer walls 32 , 33 define a recess.
- the inner and outer walls 32 , 33 may be thickened or configured to have a sufficient strength without the ribs 34 being disposed between the walls 32 , 33 .
- These changes or modifications may be made with the bottom surfaces 32 a , 33 a downwardly convexly curved to have their entire areas sufficient to contact inner surfaces of user's fingers.
- the bottom surface 31 b of the front wall portion 31 provides a load distributed over a wide area of the inner surfaces of the user's fingers.
- the present invention is applicable to a walk-behind lawn mower including a housing covering a cutter in such a manner as to allow the cutter to rotate cutting grass.
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Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a lawn mower including a housing covering a cutter for allowing rotation of the cutter to cut grass.
- Walk-behind lawn mowers have housing covering cutters and serving as frames of the mowers. The housings are configured to have strength or rigidity sufficient to provide the frames.
- The walk-behind lawn mowers are often lifted up for transportation or storage. In lifting up the lawn mower, front end portions of the housings may be used as handles. However, as discussed above, the housings are configured to have sufficient strength or rigidity to provide the frames, not to have the front end portions serve as handles useful for lifting up the mowers.
- There is a walk-behind lawn mower including a handle separate from a housing for use in lifting up the lawn mower, as disclosed in JP-U-62-17824. However, the provision of such a handle separate from the housing results in the lawn mower having the increased number of components and requiring a more cost.
- There is the need to a walk-behind lawn mower having a handle useful in lifting up the mower, without requiring additional cost and components.
- According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a walk-behind lawn mower comprising: a cutter; a housing covering the cutter for allowing rotation of the cutter to cut grass; the housing including a front wall portion covering a front part of the cutter and a portion other than the front wall portion, the front wall portion extending laterally of the housing; the front wall portion having a thickness more than twice a thickness of the portion other than the front wall portion; the front wall portion having a downwardly convex bottom surface; and the front wall portion serving as a handle for use in lifting up the lawn mower.
- The housing includes the front wall portion covering the front part of the cutter and the portion other than the front wall portion. The front wall portion is more than twice as thick as the portion other than the front wall portion. The front wall portion has the downwardly convex bottom surface. The bottom surface of downwardly convex shape has a larger area. The downward convex bottom surface of the front wall portion provides a load distributed over palms or fingers of user's hands when the user holds the front wall portion with the palms or fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion so as to lift up the walk-behind lawn mower. Thus, the distributed load applied to the entire palms or fingers can be small. The front wall portion serves as the handle useful in lifting up the lawn mower. The provision of the front wall portion serving as the handle eliminates the need to provide the lawn mower with an additional handle for use in lifting up the lawn mower. That is, the lawn mower provides the handle without requiring additional components used as a handle. The lawn mower with the front wall portion serving as the handle is lower in weight and requires a less cost than with the front wall portion separate from the handle.
- Preferably, the front wall portion includes an inner wall disposed on a side of the cutter, an outer wall spaced outward from the inner wall, and ribs disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall. The inner wall has a downwardly convex bottom surface. The outer wall has a downwardly convex bottom surface.
- The front wall portion, which has the inner and outer walls spaced from one another, is small in thickness. That is, the housing is molded in such a manner as to space the inner and outer walls from each other to provide the front wall portion free from sink marks.
- The inner and outer walls have the downwardly convex bottom surfaces. The bottom surface of downwardly convex shape has a larger area. The downward convex bottom surface of the front wall portion provides a load distributed over palms or fingers of user's hands when the user holds the front wall portion with the palms or fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion so as to lift up the walk-behind lawn mower. Thus, the distributed load applied to the entire palms or fingers can be small.
- Preferably, the ribs have downwardly convex bottom surfaces, and the bottom surface of the inner wall, the bottom surface of the outer wall and the bottom surfaces of the ribs are in flush with one another.
- The downward convex bottom surface of the front wall portion provides a load distributed over palms or fingers of user's hands when the user holds the front wall portion with the palms or fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion so as to lift up the walk-behind lawn mower. Thus, the distributed load applied to the entire palms or fingers can be small.
- Preferably, the outer wall of the front wall portion is offset outwardly from the portion other than the front wall portion, and the front wall portion has a curved outer surface extending from the portion other than the front wall portion to the outer wall of the front wall portion.
- When rainwater flows downwardly along the portion other than the front wall portion, the curved outer surface of the front wall portion guides the rainwater to the outer wall to thereby prevent the rainwater from collecting between the outer wall and the portion other than the front wall portion.
- Preferably, the walk-behind lawn mower further comprises reinforcing ribs disposed on an inner surface of the portion other than the front wall portion. The inner surface is located rearward of the front wall portion. The reinforcing ribs are disposed away from the front wall portion.
- The reinforcing ribs are not contact with user's fingers when the user holds the front wall portion with the fingers held in contact with the bottom surface of the front wall portion. With the reinforcing ribs keeping off the front wall portion, the user can easily hold the front wall portion with his fingers.
- A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lawn mower; -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front part of a housing of the lawn mower shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the front part of the housing of the lawn mower shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 ofFIG. 2 ; -
FIG. 5 is a view showing in perspective the housing front part shown inFIG. 3 . -
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion encircled by acircle 6 ofFIG. 4 ; -
FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing that a front wall of the housing is used as a handle; and -
FIG. 8 is a view showing that the lawn mower is lifted up. - Referring to
FIG. 1 , a walk-behindlawn mower 10 is a self-propelled working machine for cutting grass. Thelawn mower 10 includes a downwardly openinghousing 11, left and rightfront wheels front part 11 a of thehousing 11, left and rightrear wheels 13, 13 (only one shown) disposed at arear part 11 b of thehousing 11, a grass-cutting cutter 14 disposed in the middle of a space defined within thehousing 11, an engine (drive source) 15 disposed atop thehousing 11, and ahandle 16 extending rearward from therear part 11 b of thehousing 11. - The
housing 11, which covers thecutter 14, is a molded member defining a part or entire frame of thelawn mower 10. Provided leftward of thehousing 11 is aheight adjustment mechanism 21 having ahandle 22 and acontrol button 23 to be pushed by an operator with thehandle 22 held by his hand for moving up and down thehousing 11. - The
engine 15 is bolted to thehousing 11. Theengine 15 has anoutput shaft 15 a extending vertically downwardly into thehousing 11. Theoutput shaft 15 a has a lower end attached to thecutter 14 for rotating thecutter 14 on theoutput shaft 15 a when theengine 15 is driven. Theengine 11 is driven to rotate therear wheels rear part 11 b of thehousing 11 is connected throughstays 17, 17 (only one shown) to thehandle 16. Thehandle 16 has agrip 18 at a top thereof. - As the
engine 15 is driven to rotate thecutter 14 and therear wheels grip 18 allowing thelawn mower 10 to travel forward cutting grass. Therotating cutter 14 cuts grass and produces a swirling air within thehousing 11 to carry the cut grass into acontainer 24. - As shown in
FIG. 2 , thehousing 11 has an outward convexfront part 11 a extending from a top 11 c of thefront part 11 a to a bottom 11 d of thefront part 11 a. Thefront part 11 a has left and right sides rotationally supporting theleft front wheel 12 and theright front wheel 12, respectively. - Turning to
FIG. 3 , anaxle 27 is attached through left andright brackets side wall portions front part 11 a of thehousing 11. The left and rightfront wheels left brackets - The
housing 11 includes afront wall portion 31 interconnecting afront end 11 f of the leftside wall portion 11 e and afront end 11 f of the rightside wall portion 11 e. Thefront wall portion 31, which has an arc-shape when viewed in a bottom plan, includes its middle having a forward convex shape. Thefront wall portion 31, which extends laterally of thehousing 11, is disposed forward of and covers a front part of thecutter 14. Thefront wall portion 31 has a thickness T1. Thehousing 11 has aportion 11 g other than thefront wall portion 31. The thickness T1 of thefront wall portion 31 is more than twice a thickness T2 (FIG. 4 ) of theportion 11 g other than thefront wall portion 31. - As shown in
FIG. 4 , thefront wall portion 31 has anouter surface 31 a offset outward (forward) from theportion 11 g of thehousing 11 by a distance H1. Thefront wall portion 31 has a smoothly curvedouter surface 11 h extending from theportion 11 g of thehousing 11 to theouter surface 31 a of thefront wall portion 31. When rainwater flows downwardly along theportion 11 g other than thefront wall portion 31, the curvedouter surface 11 h can guide the rainwater to theouter surface 31 a so as to prevent the rainwater from collecting between theportion 11 g and theouter surface 31 a. - The
front part 11 a of thehousing 11 includes a plurality of reinforcingribs 41 disposed away from thefront wall portion 31 and formed on aninner surface 11 i located rearward of thefront wall 31. Thefront part 11 a of thehousing 11 is reinforced by theribs 41. - As shown in
FIG. 5 , thefront wall portion 31 includes aninner wall 32 disposed on a side of thecutter 14, anouter wall 33 spaced outwardly from theinner wall 32 by a predetermined interval S1, and a plurality ofribs 34 disposed between the inner andouter walls - The
inner wall 32, theouter wall 33 and each of theribs 34 define aspace 36. Theinner wall 32 and theouter wall 33 have their small thicknesses T3, T3. The small thickness T3 of each of thewalls front wall portion 31 having overall thickness reduced by an amount corresponding to a width of thespace 36. With the inner andouter walls front wall portion 31 is free from sink marks after thehousing 11 is molded. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , the inner andouter walls bottom surfaces ribs 34 have theirbottom surfaces 34 a. Thebottom surface 32 a, thebottom surface 33 a, and the bottom surfaces 34 a lie in the same plane, or are in flush with one another. Thebottom surface 32 a of theinner wall 32 is downwardly convexly curved. Thebottom surface 33 a of theouter wall 33 is downwardly convexly curved. The bottom surfaces 34 a of theribs 34 are downwardly convexly curved. Thebottom surface 32 a, thebottom surface 33 a, and the bottom surfaces 34 a define abottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31. - The thickness T1 of the
front wall portion 31 is more than twice the thickness T2 of theportion 11 g other than thefront wall portion 31. Thebottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31, which has the thickness T1 more than twice the thickness T2 of theportion 11 g, has a larger area. Thebottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31, which is defined by the downwardly convex bottom surfaces 32 a, 33 a, 34 a, is complementary to inner surfaces of user's fingers so that thefront wall portion 31 can contact the inner surfaces of the user's fingers throughout thebottom surface 31 b. That is, thebottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31 has its entire area sufficient to contact the inner surfaces of the user's fingers. Thebottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31 can provide a load uniformly distributed over to a wide area of the inner surfaces of the user's fingers when the user holds thefront wall portion 31 with the inner surfaces of the user's fingers held in contact with thebottom surface 31 b. The distributed load applied to the entire area of the inner surface of the user's fingers can be small. Thefront wall portion 31 can thus serve as a handle useful in lifting up the walk-behindlawn mower 10. The provision of thefront wall portion 31 serving as the handle eliminates the need to provide thelawn mower 10 with a separate handle. Thelawn mower 10 thus provides the handle without requiring an additional component used as the handle. Thelawn mower 10 with the front wall portion serving as the handle is lower in weight and requires a less cost than with the front wall portion separate from the handle. - Turning back to
FIG. 5 , the reinforcingribs 41 are formed on theinner surface 11 i located rearward of thefront wall portion 31. Since the reinforcingribs 41 are located avoiding thefront wall portion 31, theribs 41 are not contact with the user's fingers held in contact with thebottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31 when the user holds thefront wall portion 31 to lift up thelawn mower 10. - Reference is made to
FIGS. 7A and 7B andFIG. 8 showing that thefront wall portion 31 is used in lifting up the walk-behindlawn mower 10. - Referring to
FIG. 7A ,fingers 45 hold thefront wall portion 31 to lift up thelawn mower 10. The reinforcingribs 41 formed on theinner surface 11 i located rearward of thefront wall portion 31 are disposed away from thefront wall portion 31, such that the reinforcingribs 41 are not in contact with thefingers 45. With the reinforcingribs 41 keeping off thefingers 45, the user can easily hold thefront wall portion 31 with thefingers 45. - As shown in
FIG. 7B , the thickness T1 of thefront wall portion 31 is greater than the thickness T2 of theportion 11 g other than thefront wall portion 31. Thebottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31 is downwardly convexly curved. Thebottom surface 31 b has so large an area that thebottom surface 31 b can entirely contactinner surfaces 45 a of thefingers 45. Thebottom surface 31 b provides a load distributed over a wide area of theinner surfaces 45 a of thefingers 45 as thefingers 45 hold thefront wall portion 31. The distributed load applied to the entire area of theinner surfaces 45 a can be small. Thefront wall portion 31 can thus serve as a handle useful in lifting up the walk-behindlawn mower 10. - As shown in
FIG. 8 , one of twopeople lawn mower 10 holding thefront wall portion 31 with theirfingers 45 of bothhands 44 while the other person lifts up thelawn mower 10 holding thehandles hands 44. Thepeople lawn mower 10 holding thefront wall portion 31 and thehandles lawn mower 10 into a desired place. - It will be understood that many changes or modifications can be made to the walk-behind
lawn mower 10 in the illustrated embodiment. For example, the bottom surfaces 34 a of theribs 34 may extend downwardly to a level higher than the level of the inner andouter walls outer walls outer walls ribs 34 being disposed between thewalls bottom surface 31 b of thefront wall portion 31 provides a load distributed over a wide area of the inner surfaces of the user's fingers. - It will be also understood that various changes or modifications may be made to the
housing 11, thecutter 14, thefront wall portion 31, theouter surface 31 a, theinner wall 32, theouter wall 33 and the reinforcingribs 41 without departing from the spirits of the present invention. - The present invention is applicable to a walk-behind lawn mower including a housing covering a cutter in such a manner as to allow the cutter to rotate cutting grass.
- Obviously, various minor changes and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teaching. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
Claims (5)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2010240099A JP5124005B2 (en) | 2010-10-26 | 2010-10-26 | Walking lawn mower |
JP2010-240099 | 2010-10-26 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20120096826A1 true US20120096826A1 (en) | 2012-04-26 |
US8464507B2 US8464507B2 (en) | 2013-06-18 |
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US13/252,515 Active US8464507B2 (en) | 2010-10-26 | 2011-10-04 | Walk-behind lawn mower |
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US (1) | US8464507B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2446728B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP5124005B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR101290917B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN102523821B (en) |
AU (1) | AU2011235997B2 (en) |
TW (1) | TWI436725B (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2502984B (en) * | 2012-06-12 | 2016-09-07 | Husqvarna Ab | Hover lawnmowers |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP2713699B1 (en) * | 2011-05-31 | 2016-01-06 | Husqvarna AB | Front baffle assembly for a lawn mower |
CN204180540U (en) * | 2014-10-27 | 2015-03-04 | 常州格力博有限公司 | Can stand upside down place mower structure |
KR102422001B1 (en) | 2019-09-03 | 2022-07-15 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Lawn mower robot and control method for the same |
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- 2011-10-18 EP EP11185574.8A patent/EP2446728B1/en active Active
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GB2502984B (en) * | 2012-06-12 | 2016-09-07 | Husqvarna Ab | Hover lawnmowers |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CN102523821B (en) | 2016-08-03 |
JP5124005B2 (en) | 2013-01-23 |
CN102523821A (en) | 2012-07-04 |
TWI436725B (en) | 2014-05-11 |
EP2446728B1 (en) | 2013-04-17 |
AU2011235997B2 (en) | 2014-01-16 |
US8464507B2 (en) | 2013-06-18 |
KR101290917B1 (en) | 2013-07-29 |
KR20120043640A (en) | 2012-05-04 |
EP2446728A1 (en) | 2012-05-02 |
AU2011235997A1 (en) | 2012-05-10 |
TW201221045A (en) | 2012-06-01 |
JP2012090558A (en) | 2012-05-17 |
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